Patent Grant
7159868
(NOT APPLICABLE)
The present invention relates to games of chance and, more particularly, to a side wager for casino-style games of chance where hands of cards are dealt to both one or more players and the dealer.
The casino game Let-It-Ride™, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081, features communal cards and player cards that are combined to make a hand. These communal cards, however, are not “dealer” cards per se, and in a heads-up game, those cards would belong specifically to one player. A Blackjack variation called 21+3, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,719, features a Blackjack dealer face-up card combined with the player first two cards to define a combined hand. If a poker ranking of the combined hand exceeds a predetermined poker ranking, a payout is paid on the side wager. Subsequently, a conventional Blackjack game ensues.
It is desirable in a casino environment to offer readily understandable wagers having potential high payouts. Such high payouts generally serve as a draw to increase player participation and excitement. Of course, in order for such a game to be viable in a casino environment, the payouts must be established so that the casino maintains a reasonable advantage.
The game according to the present invention is playable as a side wager preferably in conjunction with an existing game, such as Pai Gow Poker, wherein cards are dealt to the player and dealer to form respective player and dealer hands. Examples of suitable games for which the side wager game according to the present invention can be incorporated are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/845,332 [Triple Hand] and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/589,202 [ShoPoka], the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. Generally, according to the present invention, a full player hand and a full dealer hand are combined to form a combined hand, wherein the side game wager is resolved according to the playing cards in the combined hand.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method of playing a side game is provided in combination with Pai Gow Poker where a dealer hand of playing cards is dealt to a dealer and a player hand of playing cards is dealt to a player. The method includes the steps of (a) receiving a side game wager from the player; (b) after dealing the dealer hand and the player hand, combining all playing cards from the dealer hand and player hand into a combined hand; and (c) resolving the side game wager based on the playing cards in the combined hand according to non-poker combinations, which exclude poker combinations including one pair, two pair, three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush, royal flush, and five-of-a-kind. In this context, step (c) may be practiced by resolving the side game wager according to characteristics of the playing cards in the combined hand, such as at least one of card color, picture cards, odd/even or high/low. Moreover, step (c) may be practiced by paying a payout if the combined hand contains at least a predetermined number of at least one of cards of a same color, picture cards, odd or even rank, or high cards or low cards. Generally, the payout is increased with an increased number of cards matching the card characteristics.
In one preferred embodiment, the dealer and player hands may each contain seven cards such that the combined hand contains fourteen cards. In this context, step (c) is practiced by resolving the side game wager according to characteristics of the fourteen playing cards in the combined hand.
In another embodiment, the method may include a step of paying an additional payout based on at least one specified card characteristic in at least one of the dealer hand only, the player hand only, the combined hand, or both the dealer hand and the player hand independently.
In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method of playing a side game is played in combination with Pai Gow Poker where at least one dealer hand of playing cards is dealt to a dealer, and at least one player hand of playing cards is dealt to a player. The method includes the steps of receiving a side game wager from the player; dealing the dealer hand and the player hand according to Pai Gow Poker rules; completing the game of Pai Gow Poker according to the Pai Gow Poker rules; combining all playing cards from the dealer hand and the player hand into a combined hand; and resolving the side game wager according to the playing cards in the combined hand according to non-poker combinations, which exclude poker combinations including one pair, two pair, three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush, royal flush, and five-of-a-kind.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the following detailed description, a method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described in conjunction with its application to a casino environment, thus incorporating wagers, payouts, etc. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily comprehend alternative applications of the present invention outside a casino environment, and the invention is not meant to be limited to the described application. For example, the game may be embodied in a video game that is played for entertainment purposes against a computer or the like. Alternatively, players may play the game without wagers in a head-to-head format with one player acting as a dealer, with the players simply keeping track of wins and losses.
The layout is modified to incorporate a side wager area 50 for each player. The side wager game can be played before or after the underlying game of chance. After dealing hands of cards to the dealer and each respective player, all playing cards from the dealer hand and player hand are combined into a combined hand. The side game wager is resolved according to the playing cards in the combined hand.
Preferably, the side game wager is resolved using non-poker combinations, such as based on the characteristics of the playing cards in the combined hand. For example, the card characteristics may include at least one of card color or suit, picture cards, odd/even cards, high/low cards, etc. For example, in the underlying game illustrated in
Such a high payoff, for example with ten picture cards in the combined hand has a much higher payoff potential than even a Royal Flush while maintaining viability for casino play.
In an additional application, the side game of the present invention may be suitable for play with conventional Pai Gow Poker, where each player and the dealer is dealt seven cards to form one hand of five cards and one hand of two cards. The side game wager may be resolved based on characteristics of the fourteen (14) cards combined between the dealer and each player.
As in the embodiment described above, a player can participate in the side wager by placing a wager in the side wager area 50. After cards are dealt to the player(s) and the dealer, where each hand in Pai Gow Poker includes seven (7) cards, thus forming a combined player-dealer hand of fourteen (14) cards, the side game wagers can be resolved according to the following schedule:
Of course, other payoff combinations of combined player-dealer hands may be viable, and the invention is not necessarily meant to be limited to the exemplary schedule. For purposes of the combined hand, the Joker may be used as a wild card to match any non-poker characteristic. In the exemplary schedule above, a Joker could thus be used to match card color.
An alternative or still additional operating mode of the invention incorporates an additional variable pay scale for specific independent and/or combined hands. The player may be required to place a separate wager to participate in the additional operating mode, or the feature may be added as part of the side game (according to the present invention) or even as part of the underlying game (Let-it-Ride, 21+3, etc.). For example, the player may receive a payout, regardless of the makeup of the combined hand, if the dealer hand contains cards sharing one or more specified card characteristics, such as card color. Similarly, the player may receive a payout if the player hand contains cards sharing one or more specified card characteristics. The additional payout may be paid only if both the dealer and player hands respectively contain cards sharing card characteristics although not necessarily the same (e.g., dealer hand all RED, player hand all BLACK); although yet another provision incorporates a higher payout when all dealer and player cards share the one or more specified card characteristics. Certainly, many other variations are possible, and the invention is not necessarily meant to be limited to a particular example described above.
As would be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art, the invention can be embodied in a wide variety and forms of media such as, but not limited to, single player slot video machines, multi-player slot video machines, electronic games and devices, lottery terminals, scratch-card formats, software, as well as in-flight, home and Internet entertainment. In addition, the invention can be readily implemented as a computer program product (e.g., floppy disk, compact disk, etc.) comprising a computer readable medium having control logic recorded therein to implement the features of the invention as described in relation to the other preferred embodiments. Control logic can be loaded into the memory of a computer and executed by a central processing unit (CPU) to perform the operations described herein.
In this context, referring to
The side wager game according to the present invention is easily implemented into many existing games and can bring added excitement and player participation. Casino implementation including dealer training and the like is easily performed, and players can easily understand the concept of the game and what is necessary to win. In addition, the chance for an exceedingly high payout is a considerable player draw.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/262,901, filed Oct. 3, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,800, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in this application.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4861041 | Jones et al. | Aug 1989 | A |
| 5208132 | Kamada et al. | May 1993 | A |
| 5288081 | Breeding | Feb 1994 | A |
| 5377993 | Josephs | Jan 1995 | A |
| 5685774 | Webb | Nov 1997 | A |
| 6012719 | Webb | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6022022 | Smith | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6227969 | Yoseloff | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6461240 | Perkins | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6631906 | Timpano | Oct 2003 | B1 |
| 6789800 | Webb | Sep 2004 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040248636 A1 | Dec 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10262901 | Oct 2002 | US |
| Child | 10891185 | US |
